Zeman v. Farmers State Bank of Cuba

88 P.2d 1088, 149 Kan. 574, 1939 Kan. LEXIS 94
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 8, 1939
DocketNo. 34,119
StatusPublished

This text of 88 P.2d 1088 (Zeman v. Farmers State Bank of Cuba) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zeman v. Farmers State Bank of Cuba, 88 P.2d 1088, 149 Kan. 574, 1939 Kan. LEXIS 94 (kan 1939).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Wedell, J.:

This: was an action to cancel and set aside various transactions which were component parts of the settlement of a controversy between the plaintiffs and the defendants, Josef Nekuda and his wife, and in which the defendant, Farmers State Bank of Cuba, participated through its cashier and managing officer, the defendant, Steven Benyshek. Damages were sought in the alternative. The defendants prevailed, and the plaintiffs appeal.

The trial court made the following findings of fact:

[575]*575“1. Plaintiffs are husband and wife. Frank Zeman is about fifty-eight years of age, has lived in America more than fifty years, is a naturalized citizen, speaks Bohemian, and is also able to speak, read and write English. Mrs. Zeman and the defendants, Nekuda, speak, read and write Bohemian, but not English.
“2. Mr. and Mrs. Zeman are childless, with no near relatives in the United States, and have accumulated a moderate amount of property. Josef Nekuda is a nephew of Mrs. Zeman, one of the plaintiffs.
“3. Prior to 1935 the Nekudas lived in Czechoslovakia, and there was considerable correspondence between them and plaintiffs, the outcome of which was that the Nekudas came to the United States to work for plaintiffs. Plaintiffs promised the Nekudas that if they would come they would be accepted as their children, and after a time plaintiffs would give them a farm and move to town, and after they were through with their property the Nekudas would have it.
“4. Defendant Steven Benyshek is the cashier and managing officer of the Farmers State Bank of Cuba, of which bank plaintiffs were customers. Beny-shek speaks, reads and writes both Bohemian and English.
“5. In October, 1935, the Zemans moved to a house they owned in Cuba from a farm on which they and the Nekudas had lived from the time of the Nekudas’ arrival in the spring, the Zemans selling the Nekudas a number of items of personal property at the farm for $600, and taking a note therefor.
“6. Nekuda had been a miner in the old country and knew nothing of farming. There were occasional quarrels between Zeman and Nekuda, one of which went so far that Zeman, who angers rather easily, struck Nekuda with his fists.
“7. In January or February, 1937, Zeman became quite ill and was considerably worried over the situation existing between himself and the Nekudas, and desired to be freed of his obligations to them. At some time prior to this Zeman offered the Nekudas a sum of money if they would return to the old countiy, but such offer was never accepted.
“8. About January 30, 1937, plaintiffs wrote a letter to the Nekudas telling them to vacate the farm. The Nekudas consulted Frank Spurney, an attorney at Belleville, who wrote a letter asking that the Zemans come to his office to see if the difference might not be adjusted peaceably.
“9. At about the same time the defendant Benyshek was told by both the Zemans and Nekudas that there was difficulty between them. Zeman went so far as to say that the trouble was driving him crazy, and that he would have to give them a farm to be rid of them.
“10. The Zemans finally decided to settle their difficulties with the Nekudas by giving them a farm, and it was suggested by Benyshek that the Zemans buy a farm owned by the bank, said farm being described as the north half of the southwest quarter of 7-2-1 in Washington county, Kansas. Benyshek suggested that the Zemans look at the farm, but the Zemans said the farm would be satisfactory if it suited the Nekudas. A written contract was drawn up, by which Zeman was to pay $5,000 in cash and assume $2,500 of a mortgage for $7,000, which was secured on this eighty and an adjoining eighty. The deed from the bank to the Zemans recites the consideration to be $7,500, [576]*576subject to a mortgage of $2,500, and the deed from the Zemans to Nekuda conveys the property to him subject to that mortgage.
“11. Under date of February 9, 1937, the date of the contract of sale of the eighty by the bank to Zeman, a bill of sale was signed by Zeman in favor of Nekuda for .farming implements, horses, cattle, chickens, household goods, etc., and reciting a consideration of $2,500 and also reciting cancellation of a $600 note held by Zeman dated November 1, 1935, by the Nekudas. The Zemans understood this $2,500 was to be secured on the farm they were buying for the Nekudas.
“12. Settlement between Zeman and the bank for the sale of the real estate was made by Zeman turning over to the bank $4,000 in notes and mortgages which he had at his home and a thousand-dollar waterworks bond which was in the bank, all of which were of the value of $5,000 at the time. Interest in the sum of $234.33 has been collected on these obligations by the bank to the time of trial.
“13. In the settlement between Zeman and the Nekudas a release was to be procured from the Nekudas. Benyshek undertook to procure this release and for that purpose went to Spurney’s office in Belleville, where in the presence of the Nekudas and one Dick Bazant a release was drawn. This release was signed before Benyshek as notary on February 26, 1937. The Zemans understood this release was to relieve them of all claims against them on the part of Nekudas. Benyshek was not told by Zemans of the contents of the correspondence between them and the Nekudas and did not know what claims the Nekudas were making against the Zemans, except as it may have been disclosed in Spurney’s office at the time the release was drawn. Benyshek had all the deeds, assignments and other papers in connection with the deal prepared, looked after the recording, and paid the revenue on the deeds.
“14. Dick Bazant was assisting in having the Nekudas accept the farm which the bank was selling to Zeman, and the court finds this to have been at the request of Benyshek, and not by request of Zeman.
“15. The court finds the reasonable market value of the eighty acres to have been $4,500 at the time the contract was entered into.
“16. The court finds that Frank Zeman was at all times mentally competent to transact business, but a part of the time was physically unable to leave his home, and that he left to Benyshek the -matter of the Nekudas accepting the farm, getting the personal property reserved in the bill of sale he gave them and procuring the Nekudas’ release.
“17. Plaintiffs had no independent advice in these matters, but were relying on Benyshek to carry out the transaction.”

The conclusions of law were:

“1. As a matter of law the evidence was not sufficient to establish a fiduciary relationship between Benyshek and Zeman so far as the sale of the land by the bank to Zeman is concerned.
“2. The evidence is not sufficient to establish fraud on the part of Beny-shek and the bank in the transactions involved in this action.
“3. Plaintiffs are released by the Nekudas of all claims for support on the part of the said Nekudas.
[577]*577“4.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Reed v. Kansas Postal Telegraph & Cable Co.
264 P. 1065 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1928)
Sawtelle v. Cosden Oil & Gas Co.
277 P. 45 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1929)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
88 P.2d 1088, 149 Kan. 574, 1939 Kan. LEXIS 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zeman-v-farmers-state-bank-of-cuba-kan-1939.